


Glitch

by det395



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: (only a tiny bit), Actor Dan Howell, Canon Compliant, Implied Sexual Content, Jealousy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24598720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/det395/pseuds/det395
Summary: Phil wrote a movie screenplay
Relationships: Dan Howell/Original Male Character(s), Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 24
Kudos: 64





	Glitch

**Author's Note:**

> thank you phangelica for beta-ing <3

Dan is pressed up against the toilet paper aisle, trapped between reinforced shelves and a strong chest.

He giggles and puts a hand on his cheek to sigh and shake his head as he’s released from the hug.

“You probably think I’m crazy,” Dan says, finally making eye contact.

“I don’t. Promise. But are you okay?” he asks.

“I am now, really,” Dan says. His eyes linger downward and shoot back up again. Dan is so good at doing those dark eyes.

“Did something..?”

Dan shakes his head quickly. “I, uh, tripped over some cans. Just scared me for a moment there. Really. I’m fine.”

He nods. “Anything else I can do to cheer you up?” It’s cheeky. They are still standing so close.

Dan doesn’t hide his emotions, they’re plastered right on his face all the time, in his wandering eyes. 

Sebastian’s Adam’s apple bobs beneath his dark skin in response, a shot of his strong jaw and long neck all there is to see in the frame but once his eyes come into view, the _want_ is clear. He looks back and forth down the store’s aisle. The tension has been built up since they left dinner but without a moment alone. Now, the sky outside is dark and the store is dead silent and they’ve found each other again. Not wanting to go home, not wanting to part ways. Not ever.

“Can I…”

“Yes,” Dan says, quickly. Too quickly. He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head, cringing at himself and avoiding eye contact once again. 

Sebastian grabs Dan’s chin and lifts it up. Dan looks a little surprised. It’s been so obvious, unspoken but clear, it just hasn’t happened yet. But now, slowly, Sebastian leans in. Pan away from them down the messy grocery store aisle with flickering fluorescence, as they share their first kiss, the bad stuff forgotten… 

Maybe Phil shouldn’t be thinking about him as Dan. It’s _Grayson_ in front of him. 

Phil isn’t completely used to seeing his boyfriend as another person. It can be difficult to stomach Dan in the scary scenes, and now he’s discovering how strange it is to watch the romantic scenes, too.

Not that he wants to look away. Dan looks so good right now, his striped shirt tucked into ripped, faded jeans, and dark plaid wrapped around his waist, Doc Martens on his feet. Sebastian is a colourful contrast with an oversized windbreaker and socks that stick up past his ankles. Headphones stay permanently around his neck. The costume designer indulged Phil’s 90’s aesthetic well. 

Phil watches as they break away from the kiss and try not to giggle, happiness bursting out of their pinched cheeks as an elderly white lady walks by with a shopping cart obliviously. A moment of lightness, a break from the scary stuff. The director yells “Cut!”

Phil scratches at his face. Makeup gets stuck under his fingernails but he’s all done with his cameo, anyway. He was a random shopper who Dan—no, Gray ran into and knocked over before rushing off with apologies on his tongue. 

Gray has the sensation that life is slipping away around him, literally, and he becomes terrified he’s going to fall through the floor as it happens around him. He has no proof for what he sees so he doesn’t tell anyone. He’s a novelist trying desperately to work as he runs away from the reality crumbling around him, but even his own story is getting away from him. Still, part of him believes that if only he finishes his novel that life will return to normal, be all in one piece again.

They prepare for another take. Phil doesn’t realize how intently he’d been staring at Dan until he catches Phil’s eyes. He gives a small smile that turns into a smirk when he recognizes Phil’s expression.

Sebastian made friends with Grayson at the midnight diner where Gray was hiding in plain sight, finally a break from running away from the glitches all the time. Right now, he’s the only other character who the audience can see is paranoid, but Dan hasn’t seen it yet. Dan sees someone who is strong and grounding.

If the audience looks close enough, maybe on the second watch—if Phil can have that hope—they will see people in the background running from nothing, see things glitch and return to normal in the next millisecond. Gray eventually begins to notice those reactions, which is the first indication that this phenomenon is a lot bigger than Gray, and that his precarious sanity isn’t to blame. 

They act out the kiss again; Dan is a little less nervous and a little more bright-eyed in this take. He gets his hands around the back of Sebastian’s neck desperately and uses some tongue that flicks out between their lips. The audience will go crazy for it, that Phil can be certain of.

Phil has seen Dan kiss as an outsider in certain private videos of theirs before. Still, it’s different in real life. It’s different with another man, one who Phil, for all intents and purposes, created.

The idea for this film has been in his mind for a long time. Nonetheless, the love story he deleted then added a million times over feels even more vulnerable. It feels right, he still concurs, and he feels a certain pride to write gay characters without any horrible tropes. It just feels vulnerable. He put parts of himself into it, he put parts of Dan into it, he knows that. The safety Dan—Gray—feels with Sebastian, the comedic relief of their banter, the fast connection that makes time apart hard. He’s proud and he’s scared to give it to the world.

This is the third take of the first kiss scene now. Despite the experience Phil has with movies, he wasn’t prepared for all the time this takes. It’s going to be a long while of watching Dan snog someone else—the Gray and Sebastian love story in his mind come to life—until there are finally no more mistakes and not too much spit and they’ve recorded all the angles they want. 

Phil is in the weird position of feeling slightly bitter and slightly hard. He still can’t deny how amazing Dan is. How he excelled in his acting classes and takes on his part so flawlessly.

Cornelia is writing a score for this scene. Shivers run up and down his limbs just thinking about it. He can’t believe he’s seeing his story right in front of his eyes, better than he could have ever imagined. It’s like a piece of his heart is beating outside of his body. And every day he’s so, so scared that it won’t turn out right. 

“It’s going to be amazing,” Dan says when hours have passed and it’s finally time to leave, another ten-hour day complete. He says this every time, energy bursting out of him as they approach their taxi, even though by the time they pull up to their house he’s always passed out against the window.

His adrenaline doesn’t waver so fast today. He sits right next to Phil and nudges him.

“Good kiss scene you wrote there,” Dan says.

Phil laughs. He doesn’t really know how to respond to the compliments he gets day after day. 

“Good kisser you hired, too,” Dan says, winking.

“You’re a shit,” Phil says, grabbing his chin roughly. He doesn’t have the brain cells to make a good comeback right now.

Dan leans in closer. “You love it.”

Phil leans closer and Dan quickly turns his head the other way, like he’s suddenly interested in looking out the window at the plain London streets. On the side of his face, Phil can see the indent of his dimple.

Phil will never admit how much he likes Dan being a brat. He’s certain it’s gotten worse now that Dan’s the star of a rather high-budget film. Maybe Phil’s been giving him a lot of attention recently.

“When’s that other, sexy scene coming again?” Dan asks, feigning innocence.

“Shush.” Phil gets his hand on Dan’s thigh, grasping tight. He doesn’t have the backbone to flirt vocally in front of a taxi driver like Dan does. 

Phil hopes he can keep him awake later, just for a little bit. Tonight, Phil will make Dan feel good, a reminder of who they are to each other, and tomorrow, they’ll be back. Dan’s head flops down on his shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr link and moodboard!](https://det395.tumblr.com/post/620316593940021248/glitch-t-14k-phil-wrote-a-movie-screenplay)


End file.
